This is the other half of Linderbelle, just so you know who this is. Went to Petsmart today to get some chewies for the other dogs we have, cause they are losing attention due to Abbey. Saw a couple with a black/tan Cav. and thought I would say hi. Well they where in looking for a harness instead of the collar they had. Seems that their Vet said that some of the irritation that the dog had was due to collar stress. Asked them if it did it all the time and if it sucked its paws. The answer was sometimes on the collar other times not. The paw situation was cause she just liked to have clean paws. I said she might have SM, then kinda explained what it was. No they have a very good Vet and he knows alot about dogs. I told them that a large amount of Vets don't know about SM. I felt like I was not really being taken for real. Advised them to take a look on the Web for "CavalierTalk" under health just to start. She kinda said my Vet would know about this. The husband did lift a eyebrow when I said look at the Web for this problem. They went on their way to get the harness to take care of the "collar stress" Just thought I would put this out to show that even the good Vets don't know about this. Abbey sleeping now so I have to be quite!

harleyfarley

8th March 2009, 12:38 PM

I think people dont always realise that you know what your talking about and not some nut case on the loose. They might think "im sure he is not right but ill just have a look, esp if things get worse, which they would. di

Karlin

8th March 2009, 12:48 PM

"Collar stress"... :rolleyes: Well I suppose it could be irritation from pulling hard, but dogs generally don't lick their paws "to keep them clean" like cats... what an odd response. At least the dog is getting a harness and you've given them a bit of information that might eventually prove useful. :) People often don't understand that just as GPs cannot know or diagnose everything, neither can a vet, no matter how good. Many of us have excellent vets but have had to seek specialist diagnosis for concerns like SM.

ilsamom

8th March 2009, 02:56 PM

I was warned about SM by a cavalier owner in the park when Ilsa was 6 months old. Not because she was showing symptoms but because his dog had recently had surgery and wanted other cav owners to be aware. When I was wondering what was wrong with my girl I remembered that man and some long disease that started with an S. He may have saved my girl's life, and I don't remember him or his dog's name. If the time comes they'll remember you and find out what is happening to their dog because of your advise. They may also remember that meeting and feel gratitude to you daily as I feel for that man. As our vets had no idea about SM, that meeting was a message to me that I was lucky enough to remember. You may never know it, but spreading information about this is a great gift.

I try to pass it along as well, specifically to Ilsa's sister's mother who lives around the corner from us. If we don't share our knowledge other dogs may suffer needlessly. At least until more vets are aware of this and can properly advise their patients.
Jen and Ilsa